Aeroplane.



0.8. SMITH; AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-8 I918,

Patent ed Dec. .31, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET c. B. SMITH. 'AEROPLANE.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLIE B. SMITH, OF KOKOMO, INDIANA.

AEROPLANE.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, CHARLIE B. SMITH,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Kokomo, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description 'of the invention, such as will enable. others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to aeroplanes and more particularly to those of the monoplane type, especially those of the lighter than air class.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an aeroplane which is simple, inexpensive and reliable, and one which is so constructed that it can be kept under perfect control of the pilot at all times under various flying conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide the machine with a pair of buoyant wings and a buoyant tail structure which form efficient stabilizing means possessing enough buoyancy to support the weight of during the trave the machine-either on or slightly off of the ground, as may be found most desirable.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide means for filling each of the hollow wings and the tail stabilizing structure with air or gas to give'the machine the desired buoyancy. 3

A further object of the inventionis to provide the machine with suitable power means, vertical and horizontal rudders, and means for controlling the same, whereby the machine may be propelled and guided through the air as desired. I

, A still further object of..the. invention is .to provide the machine fore and aft with rudders, the fore rudder being mounted for vertical and horizontal movement while the aft-rudder is mounted for vertical movement, both of said rudders being connected by suitable steering mechanism for simultaneous movement.

A still further object of the invention is to arrange a tube longitudinally upon the machine for the passage of air therethrough of the machine which will serve to maintain the machine in a direct- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 31, 1918, Application filed August s', 1918. Serial No. 248,876.

line of travel, or, in other words, will serve to guide itas it were on a rope of air and thus prevent the machine from swerving aeroplane.

Fig. 2 represents a. side elevation thereof, and v Fig. 3 represents a vertical transverse sectional view through the machine.

In order that the construction and operation of the invention may be readily comprehended by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, I hax e illustrated an improved embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings and will now proceed to fully describe the same, in connection with said drawings, in which 1 is the main supporting frame which may be constructed in any suitable manner. An air tube 2 is mounted longitudinally upon the mainframe and provides means for the passage of air-therethrough during the travel of the machine, which serves to gulde the machine as it were on a rope of air, thus preventing it from swerving 'to the right or left. A suitable gas bag 3"having a filler opening 4 is mounted over the tube 2 and secured upon the main frame and-when prop- -erly inflated will assist in supporting 'or sustaining the weight of the machine.

A pair of hollow buoyant wings 5 having filler openings, 6 are attached to the main frame adjacent its forward end, said wings, when properly inflated with gas, serving to support and sustain the weight of the forwvard portion of the machine. The rear of the machine is provided with. a hollow tail structure 7 having filler openings 8 and which, when properly inflated with gas, will support and sustain the rear portion of the prising a vertical vane 9 and a horizontal swinging movement.

vane 10, the latter being hingedly connected, as at 11, to a hinge member 12 for ver-' tical swinging movement. This member 12 is pivotally mounted, as at 13, on the forward end of the main frame for horizontal Brackets 14 are a'ttached to the opposite ends of the vane 10 and have connected to them cables 15.

A horizontal rudder 16 mounted, as at 17, to the rear end of the main frame and tail structure andis provided with an actuating arm 18 connected to a link member 19 extending beneath the tail structure.

A suitable pilot cabin '20 is suspended from the intermediate portion of the main frame and has mounted therein a steering wheel 21 fixed on a shaft. 22 journaled in suitable bearings. 23 is a pulley fixed on shaft 22 and has trained around it, in opposite directions,'t he rear ends of the steering cables 15, whereby upon the. actuation of the steering wheel, the fore rudder may be steered to the right or left in a horizontal plane.

The rudder controlling mechanism embodies ashaft 24 slidably mounted through the cabin and has fixed thereon a worm gear 25 meshing with a similar geaf" 26 fixed on a shaft 27 journaled in suitable bearings 28 suspended from the main frame, said shaft being provided with a steering-wheel 29 within convenient reach of the 'ilots seat 30. As shown, the rear end of t e shaft 24 is pivotally connected to the rod 19 while the forward end is pivotally connectedto a vertical steering rod or pipe 31, while the latter is pivotally connected to a bracket 32 carried by the vane 9 of the fore steering rudder for horizontal pivotal 'movement. By this construction, it will be noted that ..the fore and aft rudders. are connected for simultaneous vertical swingingmovement, so that when the fore 'rudder'is swung upwardly, the aft rudder will swing downwardly, thus enabling the machine to be steered up or down with perfect control.

In order that the machine may be propelled, I provide suitable power means which a in this instance embodies a'drive shaft 33- drive connection, such as a chain or belt 36'.

The front and rear of the machine are rovided with. suitable launching and land m wheels 37.

in practice, and in operation of the mais hingedly fiated with' gas in quantities sufli-cient to make the machine buoyant or, of the lighter than air type. It can be .made buoyant enough to just rest on the ground or to rise slightly above the ground and sustain the weight of the machine, so that the propeller will simply function to drive the .machine. It will also be apparent that by the proper manipulation of the" fore and after rudders that the machine can be steered either to the chine, the wings and tail structure are in- V 4 right or left, u'p or down, as desired, and-1 that the tube arranged upon the machine gether with the form which I consider to be the best embodiment thereof," I desire to have it understood that such changes in con struction and arrangement of parts may, be

made when desired as are within the scope I.

of the appended claims;

Having thus described my invention, what I I claim as new is 1. An aeroplane comp-using a main supporting frame, buoyant stabilizing wings mounted at the forward end of the main frame, a buoyant stabilizing-tail structure mounted at the rear end of said main frame,

a vertical rudder operatively positioned at the head of the machine, a horizontal rudder operatively positioned at the'rear of said tail structure, a pilot cabin carried by the,

main frame, means for simultaneously controlling the movements of said vertical and horizontal rudders, and propelling the machine.

2.'In an aeroplane, a mainframe, a tubular air passage extending longitudinally thereof, buoyant stabilizing wings attached to said body adjacent the forward end, a buoyant body surrounding said air passage, and buoyant tail structure mounted adjacent power means forthe rear of the frame and extending at opposite sides of the air passage. p

3. In an aeroplane, a main supporting frame, buoyant wings carried thereby at each side of its forward end, an unobstructedtube extending longitudinally upon said main frame to permitfree passage of air therethrough, a buoyant tail structure disposed beneath said frame adjacent the rear of said tube, and propelling means upon said I frame.

4. In an aeroplane of the class described, a main frame, a pair of hollow stabilizing w ngs attached to said main frame adjacent its forward end and adapted to be filled with gas, a rudder mounted at the forward end ofthe machine for vertical and horizontal s5;- principle of operation of the invention, to-

-moveme1 1 t, a rudder-mounted at the rear of the machine for vertical movement; and operating =means connectilig said redders' whereby simultaneous mo'vement may be imparted to the rudders, eachruddel: mov-- ing'in an opposite direction.

name to this specificatien-ih the presehce 6f two subscribing w i tnesses.

Witnesses;

- BYCHERD E. 'DAY, ESTHER PARK.

JGHAR IEB. SMITH. 

